West Midland Safari Park Reviews 

170
TrustScore 2 out of 5

1.9

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Review summary

Created with AI, based on recent reviews

Evaluating 45 reviews, most reviewers were unhappy with their experience overall. Many customers found the experience to be overpriced, feeling it was a waste of money for what was offered. People frequently encountered significant traffic congestion during the safari drive, often seeing very few animals, which led to disappointment. Reviewers also reported issues with staff, describing them as rude, unhelpful, and at times, unprofessional. However, some customers also noted a shift in priority, with animals seemingly moved to lodge viewing areas, diminishing the experience for day visitors. Conversely, a small portion of people who stayed in the lodges were highly satisfied, praising the amazing accommodations, staff, and unique close-up animal encounters. Others mentioned that many rides were not working or were unsuitable for younger children, leading to further dissatisfaction.

What people talk about most

Price

Reviewers highlight negative aspects of price, with many finding the costs to be extortionate and not worth... See more

Location

Customers had ambiguous experiences with location, with some reviewers describing it as one of the most... See more

Staff

People report negative experiences with staff, with many reviewers describing employees as unhelpful, rude,... See more

Service

Customers consistently note negative experiences with service, with many feeling that the place has gone... See more

Product

Clients share ambiguous opinions on the product, with some praising the wide range of activities, including... See more

Reviews shaping this summary

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

We were stuck in insane traffic inside the safari – it felt like being on the M6! Barely moved for over 3 hours, occasionally spotting an animal here and there. We had family visiting from abroad... See more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Went here years ago and was brilliant just come back from taking the family and salt it’s no longer a safari but merely a bumper to bumper traffic jam, with the animal enclosers being torn up by the v... See more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Unclear for buying tickets on the website. There were buy 1 get 1 free but no notifications that cannot offer the free return and warning during the process. However, it was expensive than b... See more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Place totally geared up to prioritise the lodge guests over day visitors. All the favourites such as lions, tigers... been moved to the lodges, leaving hardly any viewing points for day visitors. Th... See more


Company details

  1. Wildlife and safari park
  2. Tourist attraction

Written by the company

Are you ready for a spectacular family day out in the West Midlands? Hop in your car and embark on the epic 4-mile Safari Drive, where you can spot some of Africa and Asia's most incredible wildlife. Come face to face with lions, tigers, rhinos, elephants, giraffes, zebras, and many other rare and exciting species. But the journey doesn't stop there, embark on an on-foot journey through the Safari Walk areas. Don’t miss the opportunity to take in the sights of the Park’s walking trails. See cheetah, elephant, giraffe and more up close on foot. After a day full of animal encounters, step into the past and meet dinosaurs and ice age creatures, and treat the little ones to a mini adventure of their own at the Explorers' Play Park. There's plenty to get up to for visitors of all ages at West Midlands Safari Park, don't miss out on one of the best things to do near Birmingham for families and book your tickets today for the best prices online! A memorable day out for the family is guaranteed at West Midlands Safari Park! Book your tickets today and start looking forward to your visit. Tickets are delivered to you instantly via email and SMS.


Contact info

1.9

Poor

TrustScore 2 out of 5

170 reviews

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No recent history of asking for reviews

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1.9

All reviews

(170)

46 reviews in the last 12 months

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Companies on Trustpilot aren't allowed to offer incentives or pay to hide reviews. Reviews are the opinions of individual users and not of Trustpilot. Read more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Phone lines are a scam

Phone lines are a scam. You sit endlessly in a loop - they are not manned. Very unhelpful - only way to contact is via e-mail with a 5 day turn around. Appalling.

14 July 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Disappointing and won’t return

Offering 50% off tickets because some (most certainly not all) teachers have gone on strike is not really fair, when you have sold tickets to many schools coming for their end of term trips. The drive through was excessively busy, taking us 45 minutes just to get through the giraffes. I’ve been coming here for years and bought multiple classes of children, but will never return after this weeks visit. Far too busy, not even lunch or walkthrough entrance for coach drivers anymore and barely any animals to be seen, as they are mostly kept up near the lodges these days.

7 July 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

My son and I had a fantastic day out…

My son and I had a fantastic day out and I would highly recommend a visit.
The drive through area is huge. Took us over two and a half hours to get round it all. Animal feed is sold for the herbivores with the result that the animals come right up to your car and will eat right out of your hands.
The walk through areas were also great with lots of talks, a sea lion show, and opportunities to hand feed some of the animals including penguins and lorikeets. It was great walking through the lemur enclosure and seeing the animals so close.
Didn't have time to visit the theme park and dinosaur park and we were there before the park opened. You could easily spend two full days here.

14 June 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Well I have to say very poor

Well I have to say very poor
The long lines of traffic to get out as long as it took to drive round the park
With one lonely elephant to end

My thoughts stay clear to expensive and overrated

Still here stuck in traffic

1 July 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Steer clear

My wife turned up today as an essential carer, having paid full, on the day booking, price for her client. When arriving at the scanning point she was told to return to the ticket office to collect a carer's ticket. This was either a long drive around or, as she chose, leaving her client in the heat and walking back to join a long queue of similarly frustrated carers, all queueing to collect a carer's pass because of the incompetence of the system. This is extremely poor service for the most vulnerable and under privileged. Also, on the website, mobile or laptop, the FAQ's for essential carers does not work! What does work very well though is the annoying little 'buy me now' ticket icon in the bottom left of the screen, vibrating (essentially shouting at you) every few seconds. Just another money grabbing 'profits before people' setup as far as I can see.

7 June 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Gone downhill

You are no longer able to go round the Safari as many times as you’d like which I’ve found every other Safari park I’ve ever been to has offered. They only care about the lodges now. Used to be one of the best, but will deffo travel further to visit longleat now

27 May 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Rude staff. Poor attractions. Long waits. Wasted time and money, save yours.

I found the staff rude and argumentative.

We had chosen WMSP from a list of other places we could have visited. However, the park did not deliver. It felt dated, the animals were distant and we were unable to really get a feeling of being in a wild environment.

The queues were long and when we reached a place where we could physically interact with the animals, we were moved on.

The staff at the theme park were just rude. As we were looking to get out wrist bands for the rides, we had queued, after a member of staff called through to the kiosk. Waited and as we reached the front of the queue to be we were told that the booth was now closed. The member of staff arguing that we should have got there sooner!
They were unwilling to listen and eather than putting customer service at the fore they just argued with us in frint of other people. It was embarrassing nd unprofessional. I am so disappointed at WMSP.

My daughter mentioned that maybe we might consider staying at the chalets. After the treatment that we received we will definitely NOT be doing that.

Unfortunately for the park, I come from a large family, our recommendations on places to visit impacts them chosing where to go. I will definitely be telling them to refrain from visiting WMSP.

Such a shame, as we had such high expectations, and for what we paid, it was a waste of time and money.

VISIT SOMEWHERE ELSE.

3 June 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 3 out of 5 stars

Wouldn’t go again

Wouldn’t go again . Lot of queuing and bottle necks . Lots of giraffes zebra and rhino ( good ) lots of deer of various sizes ( mostly sitting down away from the road ) a few camels far away and little else visible . I’d recommend a zoo . Disappointing

2 June 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Will not go again!

It started with online tickets.

The tickets are not refundable.
The ticket dates cannot be changed.
The ticket Vehicle cannot be changed.

They do not respond to emails.
Their telephone lines are always busy, with a constant loop to press x to talk to y, with all mailboxes for voice messages being full.

The venue itself is in a massive decline. I have been here a number of times over the last 10 years and it seems to get worse every year. The "Safari" part of the West Midlands Safari park seems to be an after thought and customer support is non-existant.

Better off just going to one of the zoos as you will be able to see more animals.

27 May 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

The slow decline of WMSP

Been to WMSP several times in the last 8 years as the kids enjoyed it, but we've witnessed it gradually go downhill while the price has gone up and up, Animals seem to get less every year and concentration seems around the lodges now so can't see half the animals as the enclosures have been designed to accommodate the lodges and forgot about the drive through experience! Last visit topped it off taking over an hour to get through the last small stretch of the giraffes whoever planned that bit needs their p45! Better off paying less and going to a local zoo for the day instead! If I wanted to be stuck in 2 hours+ of traffic I'd have a day out on the M6! 😬

6 May 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

WMSP - Only interested in money..........

We booked to stay at Cheetah Lodge on 11 May 2023 almost a year ago. Unfortunately about 10 days prior to our scheduled arrival date, a train strike was announced. Myself and guest both live over 100 miles away so taxi wasn't an option, neither of us drive. We would have been able to get a train to the park but had no way of getting back on the 12th as no train service at all on our lines so couldn't go unless strike was called off. We paid £490 and lost every penny due to not cancelling within 2 weeks of arrival date - which we were unable to do because we didn't know there was going to be industrial action and when announced whether it was still going ahead. They refused a refund as only issued under exceptional circumstances (I would have thought that not being able to get back home would count as exceptional circumstances!) However, they did ask if we wanted to rebook for another date (£150 amendment fee payable on top of any additional charge between original cost and new date) We were not prepared to rebook due to steep amendment fee plus prices have all increased in 2024. If wanted to book this time next year would have been just short of £1k! This was supposed to be a birthday treat for me as cheetahs are my favourite animal. To add insult to injury, just got an email from Safari Lodge bookings asking us how we enjoyed our stay!

11 May 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Wish i could give 0 stars.

Wish i could give 0 stars.

Day started out sat in three lanes out of five queing to be let in. Three cars come by in lane four and realise only three lanes in use and cut in behind us, nobody monitors the lanes or people jumping the que.

Secondly its literally like the m25 all the way round, took 2.5 hrs to get around and barely saw anything.

The grounds and surrounding is all poorly maintained, the roads have deep potholes and hills that kill clutches. Too many broken down cars blocking the route and not being moved.

Two lanes jammed cause people in both lanes want to stop for animals, common sense and logic says they should use one lane to stop and one lane to keep things moving. But nope!

Even when we DID manage to get to some animals, because of the ques behind us we were beeped at and told to keep moving and not feed the animals, which absolutely ruined everything we waited patiently for.

When i approached customer services at the end, the lady very swiftly handed me a card with an email address on before i even got to have my say about what u was complaining about, outright refused me to speak to anyone, no explanation to my questions, no empathy, just literally a quick way to palm me off.

Legally what they are doing here is criminal. If you're overcrowding a venue, HSE would love to know about it, and this isnt a threat, they will hear about this.

Absolutely avoid this place like the plague. Not worth the £80 odd we spent to sit stuffy in a car for 2.5hrs with no food or water.

7 May 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Really do not like the way WMSP is…

Really do not like the way WMSP is going, used to be so very enjoyable. Used our passes regularly, completely priced us out of purchasing a pass this year, and so many exclusions! Forced us to try somewhere new.

7 May 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Do not waste your time

Do not waste your time, literally sat in traffic for 3 hours in the middle of a field. No animals in sight they have these electric gates that make the traffic worse as you queue forever waiting for them to open, it is poorly managed over priced we paid £96 for 3 people and the experience was just a traffic jam and a couple of rhinos. Will never ever return and will be advising everyone I know not to waste their money.

1 May 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Don't waste your money

Don't waste your money. It's basically a 3 hours traffic jam. Hardly any animals out. The ones that were out weren't interested in being fed, I paid £8 for 2 boxes and we didn't even get to see many animals. Let alone feed them. Total rip off! Cost us over £150 for 4!! Never again and I will tell everyone I know to avoid!!

1 May 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 2 out of 5 stars

We are frequent visitors of this local…

We are frequent visitors of this local attraction and are big supporters of it and we're very happy to visit on the 50th anniversary as many many others were my wife is disabled and my son has autism so we are aware of the refreshment areas and attractions... but we were greeted with many closed areas so much so we passed a refreshment area and went a few yards to find a seat in an area where refreshments were closed and by the time I went back it was closed..if you are inviting people to celebrate your 50th the least to expect would to be properly open. Many areas under construction,went through lemur wood...no lemurs.... through bats...no bats...please do better..

17 April 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Absolutely loved it

Absolutely loved it , would highly recommend, staff very friendly and helpful, we went Easter Sunday done the fair and smaller animals first , no waiting on rides as was advised by one of the staff to do it that way round as the safari was really busy and worked brilliant , definitely will be returning going to look at the lodges as one day not long enough to do/see everything

9 April 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Absolute chaos in every way

Absolute chaos in every way - it was like sitting on The M25 for 3 hours, you would probably see more on the M25. The only animals we seen was rhino and giraffes. Total waste of money and a terrible experience all round.

8 April 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Reminder to self: Don't come back!

A 50 year old disappointment. It's the desolate look of the place, plus a 2 hour clutch burn to see not much.
Brought an oversees visitor who said there is more to see back in her own country.
Why is this place open?

9 April 2023
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Chaos! Little sitting on a gridlocked motorway

Visited the park on 08th April 23, what absolute chaos. It’s like sitting on a parked motorway in gridlock.
No order with people getting into the park with cars crossing each other and literally at a standstill in most parts. Poorly managed with too many cars allowed in at one time.
Lots of rhinos and deer but not much else.
If anyone ask me to visit again, it’s a big fat no! God help driving around in the heat of the summer and with small kids! Nightmare! Absolute chaos!

8 April 2023
Unprompted review

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